


The Tale of Locker 22: Gender Bend

by dbzgal04



Category: Are You Afraid of the Dark?
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Gen, Gender or Sex Swap, Ghosts, Hippies, Mystery, Paranormal, Supernatural Elements, Suspense, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:48:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25781635
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbzgal04/pseuds/dbzgal04
Summary: A new version of the AYAOTD episode "The Tale of Locker 22," with the characters being gender swapped, and some other differences as well.Original and new character names:Julie Dufaux...Julien DufauxChris...ChristaDonnie and Fritz...Donna and FridaCandy Warren...Kenny Warren
Kudos: 2





	The Tale of Locker 22: Gender Bend

The year was 1993, in an American town called Darby. Sixteen-year-old Julien Dufaux had just immigrated from France with his parents. To say he was nervous about being at a new school, and in a new country at that, was an understatement. The assistant principal of Darby High School, Mrs. Shaffner was showing the new student his locker. Mrs. Shaffner was a grump, to put it lightly. Julien’s locker was in a basically abandoned room, which hadn’t been cleaned in a while. She told the new boy “We haven’t used this this room in years. I don’t know where all the new kids keep coming from. Anyway, here’s locker 22.”  
He said, “This place is dirty, and it’s a long walk from my classes.”

The graying, middle-aged woman took off her glasses and squinted at Julien. “Are you complaining, Mr. Dufaux?”

The boy protested “No, just-“

Before he could finish, Mrs. Shaffner stated “Good! Then get ready for your first class of the day, and I hope you enjoy Darby High School,” and walked off. Julien groaned in frustration before placing his backpack and a few other belongings in the locker.

A short while later, it was close to the end of Julien’s first class, which was chemistry. The class was filling beakers with water, as practice for measuring. Then, the teacher instructed the class to suck the water through their pipettes, then quickly cover the opening with their fingers to prevent the water from running out and back into the beakers. Julien was told this was collecting fluids, and it made sense to start with water. 

Unfortunately for Julien, he sucked the water in too quickly and coughed. Then he flailed his arm, causing the beaker to fall to the floor and break. His classmates all spun toward him, but no one said anything. A couple girls, however, smirked and held back chuckles. An African American girl was genuinely concerned. The teacher went to grab a broom, then said to Julien “Don’t worry, I’ll clean this up. But please use more caution from now on, okay?”

Then the bell rang, signaling the end of class. A humiliated Julien buried his face in his hands as his classmates exited the room. The two amused girls came up behind him. The one with long dark brown hair and sunglasses stopped at his right side, and the girl with long blond hair and brown eyes stopped at his left side. The brunette taunted, “You really should use more caution, because next time…we’re using acid!”

Then the blond teased, “Uh-oh, we sure don’t want any accidents then!”

“Get moving!”, the African American girl demanded, giving the other two light shoves on their backs. The snobs merely snickered and exited the classroom with everyone else.

This girl then laid her hand on Julien’s shoulder and asked, “You alright?”

“Yeah, I think so,” he replied.

The gal smiled, then said “My name’s Christa. I take it you’re new here?”

“Yes, indeed. My name is Julien. I’ve never done this kind of stuff before. My family just came to America from France.”

“Well, don’t worry,” Christa assured him. “You’ll get used to it here. Besides, I’ll show you around the school, if you’d like.”

Julien smiled, then said, “Yeah, that would be great.” 

“Come on, then,” said his new friend, and she walked toward the door.

Julien glanced toward the front of the classroom, and there stood a boy he didn’t see before. He had short light brown hair and brown eyes. He wore unusual clothing, including a headband around the top of his head. The new student gasped, then cried “You startled me! I thought everyone else left.” The other guy didn’t speak, just shed a tear. 

Before Julien could say anything else, Christa re-entered the classroom and asked, “Are you coming?”

Julien turned back toward her and replied “Yes, just a second.” But when he turned back around, the mystery boy had disappeared! Julien blinked in confusion, then shook his head and left the chemistry room with Christa.

Later that day in the cafeteria, Julien was searching for a place to sit. He saw one open spot, but then realized it was by those mean girls from chemistry. He immediately went on his way, then found an empty table. Julien sighed in relief as he sat down to eat lunch. But to his horror and discomfort, the snobby gals came to his table, and sat down, with him in the middle!

They smirked, then the brunette asked her sidekick, “Hey Donna, how do you like the new guy?”

Donna responded, “I’m not sure, Frida. He seems a bit…off. Did you hear about what happened in chemistry this morning?”

Frida said, “I don’t think so. What?”

Donna continued, “He was sucking up water through this straw…”

“Then what happened?”, asked Frida.

Donna had collected the milk in her straw. Julien figured out their plan quickly, and ducked and began crawling away as Donna said, “He did something like this!” The she blew the milk at who was supposed to be Julien, but she got her sidekick instead!

Frida glared at her, then flung mashed potatoes at the blond. Donna retaliated by flinging applesauce at the brunette. The snobs continued throwing food at each other. Everyone else cheered and shouted, “Food fight! Food fight!”

Just then, Mrs. Shaffner appeared after making her way through the crowd. “Alright, what’s the deal here?”, the woman shouted. 

Suddenly, one of the girls threw an open milk carton at the other, but it hit and got all over Mrs. Shaffner instead! There was a stunned silence as the assistant principal took off her glasses and yelled “That’s enough! Both of you, my office, this instant!”

After the mean gals sighed and headed to the assistant principal’s office, Julien glanced up, and realized he was right in front of Mrs. Shaffner. She glared down at him and demanded, “May I help you, Mr. Dufaux?” He merely shook his head as he quickly stood up and bolted in the other direction. The angry woman turned and stormed out the cafeteria, ignoring the stares and giggles from other students.

Later that day when it was finally time to go home, Julien arrived at his locker to place his books back inside and collect his backpack. Unbeknownst to him, a familiar presence was coming up from behind. Julien noticed movement out the corner of his eye, then jumped when he saw the same mysterious guy from earlier. He sighed, and said “Come on, please stop doing that! What do you want anyway? I have enough-“

Before Julien could finish, the guy slowly disappeared into thin air, right before him! He slowly took a few steps back, then turned and left the building in a hurry. Once outside, he heard a familiar voice calling for him. 

Julien turned, and Christa was running toward him. “Hey, Julien! Are you okay? You look shook up about something. I heard about those idiots at lunch, but you’re so much better than them.” 

He gave a small smile, but Christa could tell something was on her new friend’s mind. “Come on, Julien. What’s up?”

He let out a deep sigh, then asked, “Promise you won’t laugh or think I’m crazy?”

“Yes, of course!”

“I know it sounds nuts, but I think I saw…”

“Yes, go on.”

“I think I saw…a ghost!”

Christa paused, then said “Okay. I see.”

Julien begged, “Please, just don’t say anything!”, before rushing toward his new home.

The next morning before school started, Julien went inside while other students remained outside, enjoying the fresh air and chatting with each other. He arrived at his locker. As he started preparing for the day, Julien suddenly heard a soft moaning. He quickly glanced around. “Who’s there?”, he demanded.

A familiar voice replied, “I’m the ghost of Darby High School. Beware Julien, I’m here to haunt you!”

The irritated guy stormed toward the entrance. Sure enough, Donna and Frida were hiding around the corner! They gave their infamous smirks, then cried, “Boo!”

Julien rolled his eyes and snapped, “That’s not funny!”, before storming back to his locker. The gals merely laughed and high-fived each other as they walked down the hallway.

Before long everyone else was gathering, preparing for their first class of the day. Julien stood in the hall, waiting for Christa. When he finally saw her, he approached and confronted his friend. “I thought I asked you to not say anything!”, he snapped.

“Oh dear,” Christa whispered, before saying, “I only told one person, and there was a reason.”

“Yeah, sure. Well, the word has spread now…thanks to you.”

Before Christa could protest, Julien turned and stormed away. He arrived back at his locker, then opened the door to start grabbing his books, when something knocked into the door. Julien saw a volleyball rolling away on the floor…and a strange necklace which had apparently fallen out of his locker upon the impact. He bent down and picked it up, then glanced up and saw Donna coming to retrieve the ball. “Sorry about that,” she said.

“Yeah, whatever,” Julien muttered as he rolled his eyes. But then he jumped upon seeing a white shape in the entrance, making a soft booing noise. The annoyed guy glared and stomped over, shoving the shape aside as he demanded, “Stop it already, this isn’t funny!” As Julien rushed down the hall, Frida removed her white blanket covering while giving Donna another high-five.

Julien came to a stop in front of the restroom, trying to calm down. Then he remembered the necklace in his hand. He brought it up to his face for further examination. Next, Julien continued walking and turned the next corner…only to be greeted by the strange ghost guy. He gawked, then asked, “What do you want, and who are you?”

Once again, the stranger didn’t speak. However, he held up a necklace he was wearing, which was exactly like the one in Julien’s hand! He glanced down at his own necklace, then back up at the perplexed human. Julien held the necklace in his hand a little higher, and looked back at the ghost, who gave a small smile and slight nod. 

Julien put the necklace on, and in a flash of light, he was in another place. Wait a minute, he was still in the halls of Darby High School! But everything was so different. The walls were brighter, and the students wore clothing like leather vests, miniskirts, and headbands. Julien gawked around, unable to believe his eyes. Just then, a boy wearing jeans and a tie-dye shirt turned around toward Julien. He came toward the stunned guy, and said “Kenny, that peace sign is far out!”

Julien’s jaw dropped. “Are you talking to me?”

“Um, yeah,” the other guy replied. “You’re the only one here named Kenny!” 

The French boy slowly took a few steps back, then turned and rushed toward the room where his locker would be. Sure enough, there was locker 22, with the name “Kenny” spelled in tie-dye colors. Julien stared in awe, then spun around after hearing footsteps enter the room. There stood a woman, who impatiently said “I’m waiting, Mr. Warren!” Julien stared in bewilderment as the woman walked away. There was something familiar about her…

Julien quickly took off the peace sign necklace. Sure enough, he instantly returned to his own time. Then he glanced at locker 22. The stickers which spelled “Kenny” were gone, however there was leftover residue, which hadn’t been there before Julien put on the peace sign necklace and traveled back in time! 

When the final bell rang for the day, Christa was preparing to leave for home, when someone tapped her shoulder. She spun around, and there was Julien. “Can we talk, please?”, he asked.

Christa sighed, then said “Absolutely. I’m very sorry about what happened-“

Julien interrupted. “You said you only told one person, and there was a reason. What is this reason, if I may ask?”

After a brief pause, Christa replied “For a long time there’s been a little rumor about a ghost haunting this school. I know someone, who knows someone who says they saw the ghost. You’re not alone, and I’m so sorry for embarrassing you!”

Julien smiled, then said “I have something to show you.”

He led his friend to locker 22, then pointed out the sticker residue. “See this here? Whoever had this locker before, spelled their name on it with stickers.”

“Yeah, okay,” said Christa.

Then Julien held up the peace sign necklace. “This fell out of the locker earlier today. It more than likely belonged to this same person.”

“And?...”

“Look around this room,” the French guy replied. “It’s obvious that nothing new has been done in here for years. Don’t you think so?”

A now nervous Christa told him “I know those girls have been teasing you, and I’m sorry about that. But now, you’re starting to spook me!”

Julien laughed, then responded “Come now, let me show you what’s really spooky!”

He held her hand while placing the peace sign necklace over his neck with the other hand. There was another flash of light, and just like Julien predicted, the couple was back in time. Christa gasped upon seeing the cleaner and brighter locker area. She glanced around, and noticed there were posters on the walls which hadn’t been there before. “What in the world is going on here?”

“I have no idea,” replied Julien. “The same thing happened earlier when I put on this necklace. It was like traveling back in time, but without a time machine.”

“Kenny!”, a familiar voice exclaimed. The pair glanced over, and the same boy with the tie-dye shirt from before was approaching. He noticed Christa, then asked “What’s your name? Are you new?”

“Yeah, I guess so,” the stunned girl replied.

The other guy raised an eyebrow, then said “You guess so?” After trailing off for a few seconds and then giving a friendly laugh, he said to Julien “Whenever she figures it out, be sure to invite her over to my place tonight too. I got the new ‘White’ Beatles album. I hope to see you there!” 

He bid the couple a cheerful farewell and went back into the hallway. Julien and Christa stared at each other. “White…Beatles…album?”, the dumbfounded gal stuttered. 

Then Julien pulled her toward locker 22, and said “Take a look! See? This is my locker, and those are the stickers spelling the name ‘Kenny.’”

“Kenny…”, Christa repeated. “That guy called you ‘Kenny.’”

Before either one could say anything else, the same impatient woman from earlier bellowed from the entrance “Mr. Warren!” The friends glanced over, and a stunned Christa’s jaw dropped. The woman continued, “Now, Mr. Warren. Not tomorrow, not next week. Now!”

Julien stuttered “But-“

“Don’t ‘but’ me, young man. Look, I will stay late today to help you. But if your project isn’t complete by four-o-clock, you’ll be saying ‘hello’ to a big fat ‘F’ and summer school. Ya dig?”

Julien gave a small smile, then nodded and replied “Yes.”

The familiar woman gave her own small smile, then commented “Groovy. I’ll meet you in my lab,” before exiting.

Her jaw still wide open, Christa stammered “That was, Mrs. Shaffner! Only young.”

“Yeah, I thought it was her,” said Julien. “We somehow traveled back in time…and to the 1960s at that. How is that possible?”

Christa looked over at him, then commented “It was that necklace, right? Please, take it off right now!”

Julien gladly obeyed her request. Another flash of light after he once again removed the peace sign necklace, and the friends were back in 1993. Sure enough, the room with locker 22 was messy and unclean again. 

“This necklace has some kind of power,” said Julien. “But how?”

Christa couldn’t stop thinking about the hippie boy. “That guy, called you ‘Kenny.’”

Her friend then asked “Who is, or was, Kenny?”

She responded “I don’t know, but let’s go find out!” 

Christa led Julien to the school library where they were able to find school records going back many years. Since the ‘White’ Beatles album came out in 1968, Christa searched through the records for that specific year. She started with a list of names and assigned lockers, then exclaimed “A-ha! Take a look here!” 

Julien hurried over, and sure enough, in 1968 locker 22 was assigned to Kenny Warren. Next, the pair looked through the 1968 school yearbook. After looking over several pages, Julien finally saw the mysterious Kenny. He placed his finger on a page, and said “That’s him, the ghost!” The page had Kenny’s school picture. Underneath the picture, it read ‘Kenny Warren, 1951-1968, A good friend and good student, We will miss you forever.’

After completing their research, the two pals walked down the hallway back toward the room with locker 22. “This is real, right?”, asked Julien. 

“Well, it must be,” replied Christa. 

Julien went on, asking “Why is Kenny appearing to me, and only me? And why do people in the past think I’m him?”

“I have no idea!”, Christa replied. Then she grabbed Julien and turned him toward her. “Look, I don’t know about you, but I’ve had enough…excitement, for one day. This is all too much all at once. Now let’s just go home and relax, okay?”

Julien paused for a few seconds, then told her, “I think Kenny is trying to tell me something. There must be a reason for all this.”

“Perhaps,” said Christa, then “Come on, it’s getting late.”

Just then, Julien remembered that he didn’t get his things from his locker. “Ugh, I still have to get my books and backpack! But let’s talk later, alright?”

“Sure thing,” Christa replied, and the two parted ways for the time being.

Julien arrived back at locker 22. Before collecting his things, he took the necklace out of his pocket and held it up. He was determined to get to the bottom of this. 

In the meantime, Christa was descending the stairs outside the school entrance. She saw a teacher who was also getting ready to leave. “Hey, Mrs. Adams!”, Christa called out. 

The gray-haired, brown-eyed woman smiled and asked “Yes, what can I do for you, Christa?”

“You’ve been teaching here longer than anyone else, right?”

“Yes, I have. A full thirty years, to be exact.”

Christa then asked “Did you know Kenny Warren?”

Mrs. Adams sighed and stared into space. “Kenny Warren…I haven’t thought of him in years. Of course I knew him, he was a very sweet and dedicated student. Such an awful tragedy…” The teacher trailed off.

“What happened?”, asked Christa. “Was he sick, or in a car accident?”

“Oh, no,” replied Mrs. Adams. “It was right here at the school. Kenny was staying late one day to finish a science project. He got careless, and there was a deadly explosion. Fire and smoke everywhere…so difficult to think of even now.” Her eyes began to water with tears.

“That’s…horrible,” Christa said softly. Then she inquired “Who was the teacher?”

“Oh my, it’s been so long…,” Mrs. Adams said.

“That’s okay,” Christa said before turning to go back inside. 

The girl was halfway up the steps, when Mrs. Adams called out, “Christa! That instructor was Mrs. Shaffner! She was the chemistry teacher before becoming assistant principal.”

Christa was now starting to panic. “Thank you, Mrs. Adams!”, she called out before hurrying back inside the school. “Julien! Julien!”, she started shouting as she ran through the halls. 

Unbeknownst to Christa, Julien had gone back to 1968 again! He was once more in the neater and brighter locker area. Next thing he knew, the young and agitated Mrs. Shaffner appeared in the entryway again and just about yelled “Mr. Warren, now!”, as she pointed toward the chemistry lab. Julien took a moment to compose himself, then followed after her. 

He arrived in the familiar yet different classroom. Mrs. Shaffner was setting up equipment for the project. She noticed him enter, then said “How kind of you to join me,” as she finished connecting a gas tube…which was worn out and rotted! The woman then told him “Take a seat.”

The student obeyed. Then Mrs. Shaffner pointed out the worksheets, thermometer, beakers, and pipette. Determined but nervous, Julien asked “Can you please explain what exactly I’m doing?”

The agitated woman answered “Identifying compounds by determining their melting points. Or would you like to go ahead and take an ‘F’ and go straight to summer school?”

“No, I’ll do this,” the student replied. But then he asked “How am I supposed to do this?”

“That’s the point of this test, isn’t it?” Mrs. Shaffner then rolled her eyes and said “Here’s a clue: Turn on the gas, and light the burner. After that, it’s all up to you. I’ll be back in 20 minutes.”

Meanwhile in 1993, Christa was at locker 22 after frantically searching for Julien. She spun around, and jumped! There he was…

“Whoa! So…you’re Kenny?”, the girl stammered. The ghost nodded. Then, Christa asked “Did Julien go back to the past again?” The ghost nodded again, and frowned. Christa started to panic. “Then he’s going to get killed…we’ve got to stop him. Please, Kenny!”

With that, Kenny stepped toward her, and reached for her hands. Just as Kenny grabbed the girl’s hands, she was blinded by yet another flash of light. Christa was relieved to be back in 1968, and she quickly ran through the halls, calling for Julien. 

In the lab, Julien had already turned on the gas, unaware of the faulty equipment. However, he was having difficulty with lighting the burner. He began searching for more matches. 

In the hallway, a frantic Christa was stopped by the young Mrs. Shaffner. “No running in the halls, young lady!”

The girl protested “Julien, I mean Kenny, Kenny’s in trouble!”

The teacher smirked, then said “I know, he’s going to flunk and have to attend summer school. Bummer!”

Now angry and desperate, Christa shoved Mrs. Shaffner to the side and ran toward the lab. At last she arrived, just as Julien was preparing a box of matches. 

“Julien, no!” Christa shouted when she bolted into the chemistry room. A startled Julien glanced toward her. She ran over and smacked the box of matches out of his hand, then turned off the gas and disconnected the hose. 

“Whoa, what’s going on?”, the confused guy asked.

A fuming Mrs. Shaffner then entered and began to ask “Yes! What are you doing-“

An irate Christa shouted, “Hold it, just hold it!” Then she held the gas hose up for Mrs. Shaffner to see, and yelled, “See this hose? It’s rotted through! If someone were to put a flame in this, the entire place would’ve gone up! Don't you know how to inspect equipment, MRS. SHAFFNER!” 

The teacher was now stunned, and speechless. “Oh, dear Lord…you could’ve been killed. I…I don’t know what to say.”

Christa shoved the worn-out rotted gas hose into her hands and retorted “How about just saying you’re in the wrong job?” The she joined Julien at his side, as they shook their heads.

Still looking in their direction, Mrs. Shaffner said, “Thank Heaven you noticed this! If you didn’t…”

“I would’ve been a goner,” said…Kenny Warren! He had appeared and was now sitting at the table.

At last, Julien and Christa were taken back to 1993, and were in the room with Julien’s locker. To their surprise, the area was much cleaner and neater. But they had something else on their mind. “Gosh…so that’s how Kenny died,” Julien said sadly.

“Yeah, I saw him too. He brought me back to save you,” Christa told her friend, then they smiled and hugged.

Just then, the two friends were interrupted by the sound of a man clearing his throat. The startled teens spun toward the entrance, and there stood a handsome, well-dressed man…with light brown hair and brown eyes. He merely smiled and inquired “May I ask why you’re at school so late?”

Julien and Christa laughed nervously, then Christa answered, “I was just helping him with his locker, it’s stuck.” But when she pulled, the locker came open easily! Julien gave a nervous laugh again, and Christa said “Well, at least it was stuck.”

The man chuckled and replied “I understand. It used to get stuck for me too.”

“Huh?”, a confused Julien asked. “That was your locker?”

“Oh, way back in the day,” he replied, then continued “You must be Julien Dufaux. It’s very nice to meet you, and a pleasure to have you here at Darby High School.”

“Thank you,” said the new student, then he asked “Um, who are you?”

The man’s smile lengthened, and he replied, “I’m the assistant principal, Mr. Warren…Kenny Warren.”

Julien and Christa’s jaws dropped as they gazed at each other in shock and bewilderment. Right when they looked back at the ‘new’ assistant principal, Donna and Frida appeared behind him, and gave their signature smirks and snickers. Mr. Warren sighed and rolled his eyes, then said “Ladies, my office now, please.”

After Mr. Kenny Warren turned around and began escorting the snobby girls to his office, Julien and Christa laughed and exchanged glances. “I have a feeling that things will be much better from now on,” Julien told his friend, who grinned and nodded in agreement.


End file.
